Life on the Run
by ToiletBrushCat
Summary: Naruto's life is set on a different path the night Itachi said five seemingly innocent words: "He will come with me." Now he lives as a fugitive with one of the most powerful nuke-ninjas making unusual friends such as Zabuza, Haku and Kisame along the way
1. Chapter 1

Okay, here's the first chapter of my new fanfiction – Life on the Run. Enjoy!

Summary: Naruto's life is set on a different path the night Itachi said five seemingly innocent words: "He will come with me." Now he lives as a fugitive with one of the most powerful nuke-ninjas making unusual friends, such as Zabuza Haku and Kisame along the way.

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><p>Life on the Run<br>Chapter 1

Itachi jumped from roof to roof, continuously leaping from moon lit tile to the next. Blood was slowly seeping through the layers of his ANBU shinobi clothing making his skin tingle in disgust at such sin filled life blood of his relatives touching him. Yet he continued on. His discomfort was of little matter as he had one more mission to complete before he could leave and never return to this place he had always and would continue, long after he left, to look upon as his true home.

_There!_ A brief flash of yellow blond alerted him to his mission's purpose bellow him in the alley between two stores. He frowned, his charge should not have been out at this time of night, and all things considered he was a good child, so something must have happened to cause such disobedience as to leave his apartment at such a late hour as this.

This idea was only strengthened by the fact that the young boy he was to watch over was trying to hide amongst the bins overflowing with rubbish. Not moments later did his protégée twelve year old ninja trained hearing pick up the undeniable yelling and furious shouts of a crowd heading their way.

They eventually arrived at their location, and would have continued past the alley's entrance if it were not for the ninja's within the mass. The blonde kid had the most incredible chakra for his age. If a ninja were to push his senses his chakra would appear as a blazing blue light, so strong was its potency. It was unusual for one as young as the blond to have such a dense and large reserve of chakra; however he was not a normal kid. After all, he was their village's resident Jinchuriki.

As the majority of the mob passed, the two ninjas recognised the boy's chakra pulses and signalled to the others, revealing the child's hiding place. The pack immediately converged on the alley's entrance, their voices increasing in volume as their excitement rose the closer they got to their aim.

Itachi had found out from day one what the worst part of this mission was: the rules. He wasn't allowed to protect the child from any of the beatings sent his way, only heal him afterwards or step in when his death was imminent.

All of the ANBU agents had, at some point, been assigned to 'guard' the boy, and all had been horrified by the extent the villagers often went to. However they were ninja that only responded and obeyed the Hokage. It did not matter that the Hokage was being manipulated by the council, his word was still law.

Itachi still remembered the time his team had been sent on 'babysitting' duty. His whole team had been disheartened by the job, all of them falling into a depressed silence at the impending week of taking shifts to follow the child.

It was his first time as he had only joined the ANBU a month or so before, and whilst his team had done the mission several times in the past, this was the first time for him. In the beginning he had misinterpreted his team mates' attitudes to being disheartened by such an easy and boring mission. He had soon found out that there was an entirely different reason behind their stifling silence.

He had to be held back by the second in command whilst the other two watched on in their ever present silence whilst the innocent child's screams filled the night as the villagers gauged three whisker like marks into each of the boy's cheeks.

The old screams seemed to mirror the present cries of pain that filled the night and Itachi had to force himself not to flinch at each and every kick and hit that collided with the small blond boy's frail form.

"Hold him down!" One of the ninja's among the mob yelled out, and several people stepped forth, each of them grabbing or standing on one of the child's limbs rendering him immobile.

A sickening crunch filled the night as the boy's wrist gave way under the pressure of a villagers boot.

His scream pierced straight through Itachi's ears and heart.

He clutched at the ANBU standard uniform over his pounding organ. It just was not right. The kid was innocent. Such pure blue eyes only dulled by the layer of salty water that ran down his scarred cheeks from all those years ago.

There was only another three minutes before the shift would change and he would leave Konoha forever. And it was then that the same ninja as before drew a kunai from his weapons pouch. As it sliced into the old scars on the boy's cheeks Itachi finally lost it.

The child protégée twelve years of age, the youngest ANBU captain ever to have walked the earth, the boy who had never in all his years as a ninja lost control of his emotions, jumped down into the alley and broke the wrist of his fellow ninja with a simple twist of his own. The kunai was dropped to the ground with a clang that echoed in the sudden silence of his appearance.

The crack of the breaking bone was followed by a moment of stillness as everyone present processed what had happened. What seemed like an eternity later to the furious Uchiha, everyone finally started moving again, all fleeing from the scene of their crime. All, that is, except for the two ninja's who had been helping the villagers.

The one with the broken wrist had cried out in pain and was now clutching the appendage in silence, glaring at Itachi. The second stood in an aggressive fighting stance slightly in front of his partner, also staring angrily at the Uchiha. Itachi stood calmly between the boy and the two ninjas in a seemingly relaxed manor. Someone of a higher level than his two opponents would have marvelled at how comfortable he appeared whilst being perfectly on guard; however the two before him now could not see past the facade.

The uninjured of the two leaped forwards and took a swipe at Itachi's face, which the dark haired almost teen dodged with ease. The real aim of the attack however was the partner using the blind spot the other ninja had created to kick Itachi's legs out from under him. At least he would have if Itachi's Sharingan had not previously flared with his fury and already shown him the move about to transpire.

With a grace rarely seen in someone of his age Itachi hit both the assailants on the back of their necks rendering them unconscious before they could continue their attack.

Not sparing the two another glance he swiftly turned and moved to the side of the child he had just protected.

He had not acted quickly enough and the three whisker-like scars on each of the tanned cheeks had been cut open once more. The blood seeping from the cuts was mixed with salty tears that escaped from beneath the boy's eyes lids that were clenched shut.

As he approached he purposefully let his feet fall heavily so as the boy would hear his advance, not wanting to scare him. However this seemed to have the opposite effect as every step that drew him nearer resulted in the child tensing more and more until he dropped to his knees at the blonde's side. Reaching out he gently whipped at one of the child's cheeks with his sleeve, and the boy flinched at the contact, a whimper escaping from his clenched teeth, but other than that did not respond.

"Naruto-Kun…?" Itachi finally spoke, and the words just made the boy cringe again. Seeing that his attempt to clear the blood away was just smearing it, Itachi focused instead on Naruto's wrist. It was bent at an unsettling angle, lying on the ground at the boy's side, just as unmoving as the blonde child himself. "Naruto-kun…?" He tried again but still received no response; the dazzling blue gems he knew to be set into the blood streaked face remained hidden by the eyelids, one of them already beginning to darken with the first sign of a black eye forming. He reached out once more and touched his shoulder to gain his attention, but once again the child flinched but this time also visibly tried to move away from the contact, only to hiss through clenched teeth at the pain this brought the beaten body.

Refusing to be put off by this for now, Itachi kept his hand on Naruto's shoulder in as gentle and non-threatening a manner as possible.

"Naruto-Kun, my name's Itachi." _Screw__secrecy._ Itachi thought as he knew revealing his identity to the boy would do no harm, especially with his imminent departure from the village. "I work for the Hokage. You're hurt, so it's best I take you to him so he can help you out. Okay? I won't hurt you like those others." Yet again he was met by a silence that stretched on. Eventually he sighed and was about to try asking again, not wanting to freak the child out by taking him without his consent, however Naruto then opened his mouth just enough for a few words to slip out.

"You'll take me to Jiji?" It came as little more than a whisper, but Itachi just manage to catch it. He was slightly taken aback by the endearment of sorts towards the village's leader, but pushed it aside for the time being.

"Yes." He said simply. Watching closely he saw Naruto's head tilt forwards just enough to be counted as a nod, and, before the boy could change his mind, he kindly lifted the small body up, holding him against his chest, only pausing to manoeuvre the broken limb as painlessly as possible so that it rested in the boy's lap rather than hanging down where it would sway as they moved and cause more pain. The boy's breath hitched as his wrist throbbed unbearably, but other than that did not complain. He continued to keep his eyes screwed shut and his teeth gritted to stop himself from vocalising all of the throbbing and aching and stinging and hurting that his body was currently going through.

Itachi ghosted through the village, doing his best not to jostle his passenger, and approached the Hokage tower at speed, heading straight through the open window and into the office when he arrived. The third Hokage was sitting at his desk, a grave expression on his face, still very much disturbed by the orders he had been forced to give the ANBU agent just a few hours earlier concerning the youngster's own family.

"Itachi! Wha…" He started, when the same boy he was so troubled over jumped into the room. However he was stopped by the sight of the child in his arms. "Naruto!" Itachi calmly stepped towards the Hokage who hurriedly pushed the piles of paper work and other objects off his desk, watching frantically as Itachi lowered the blonde so he was lying on the wooden surface. "What happened?" Sarutobi questioned as he inspected the boy's wounds, he quickly set about bandaging the boy's cuts, leaving the child's obviously broken wrist till last. He always kept a first aid kit at hand for such moments, as Naruto was not welcome at the village hospital, often leaving the medical centre in a worse condition than he entered in.

"I was finishing my shift before I left and he was being attacked in the alley beside the Ramen stand." The Uchiha explained. "I couldn't just leave him there…" He muttered more to himself than anyone else. The elderly man nodded absently, but in understanding, the majority of his attention centred on his successor's son.

"Naruto, I'm going to have to realign you wrist. It's going to hurt…" He tailed off. At the stiff nod of the boy, he gestured for Itachi to hold Naruto down. The ANBU moved around the desk so he was behind Naruto's head and placed steady hands on each of the boy's shoulders so he would not try to move away as Sarutobi reset the broken bones.

Naruto tensed at his touch and his breathing quickened, and at Itachi's nod to show he was ready the Hokage grabbed the child's wrist and pushed at the bones under the skin with nimble fingers till they were all in the correct position before immediately bandaging the appendage.

Naruto had hissed at his initial touch but after that screamed in pain as the old man messed with the injury, thrashing against Itachi's hold, but weakly which only further proved his poor state. As Sarutobi finished off the bandages he had degraded to whimpering before pulling his arm from the old man's hold and clutching it to his chest. Itachi slowly removed his grasp on the child's shoulders and shifted away from him as the blonde slowly rose into a sitting position, wiping his tears of pain on the sleeve of his undamaged arm.

For the first time that evening since Itachi had found him, he opened his celestial blue eyes and a few tears that had been trapped trailed down his cheeks before being wiped away along with the rest. He then glanced up at his saviour and the Hokage, before looking down at the floor again, waiting for someone to say or do something. The two others in the room glanced at each other before Sarutobi walked towards him and place a hand on top of his mop of golden blonde hair, comfortingly ruffling it. The old man's eyes saddened at the way the boy flinched at the contact, and acted as though to pull away from the touch, until he was certain he was not being hurt.

"Naruto," he started, kneeling down so he was at the boy's level, "do you remember who did this to you?"

"Hokage-Sama-" Itachi started, trying to inform his leader that he could recount to him every last person who had been present, but he was cut off by the old man's harsh look in his direction.

"Naruto…?" Sarutobi asked again.

"…No." The child replied hesitantly, refusing to look either of them in the eye yet again. It was apparent to both men that Naruto was not telling them the truth, however only the elder of the two was aware of just why the boy was pretending otherwise, whilst the younger was left baffled by the obvious lie.

Sarutobi knew the truth; Naruto was completely terrified of everyone in the village. This, he knew, also included himself to some extent as well. Whilst Naruto never acted openly scared of him, he never could stop himself entirely from flinching away from any physical contact from the old man. This fear of anyone and everyone caused the boy to fear even telling on them, thinking he would only be punished for other's suspicions of him being the informant. It did not help that the boy also obviously, as much as the Hokage tried to teach him otherwise, believed much of what the villagers told him. The boy took to heart every name thrown his way on the streets. 'Monster' and 'devil's spawn' were regularly hurtled at the child with no provocation to warrant such cruelty, and each time the blonde died a little more inside. His smiles become just that bit more fake, and his true self retreating that minute amount more into himself.

Right now, what sat before the old man and the soon to be ex-ANBU was little more than a shell of the lively and oblivious child that had existed a short few years before. What sat before them was a boy that had been put through too much for the solitary heart to handle without love and acceptance. What sat before them was a child in pain, on the verge of falling over the edge.

A sudden knock at the door caused all three occupants to stare startled in the direction of the sound. Sarutobi immediately recognised the presences beyond the room, and quickly motioned for Itachi to hide along with Naruto. The ANBU protégée advanced towards the blonds who tried to back up, but knew to remain silent considering the situation. His eyes silently pleaded for the masked figure to stop, but he did not. The next thing he knew, he was looking down at a five story drop, which was still growing in distance as he quickly realised Itachi had grabbed around the middle, holding him under his arm as he had climbed out the window from the Hokage's office, and was now ascending up onto the roof of the Hokage Tower to wait.

Meanwhile, Sarutobi had called out for the 'guests' to enter, after hurriedly shoving the first aid equipment under his desk, away from their view.

"Hokage-Sama." Koharu said in greeting as she entered the room, closely followed by Homura. The old man nodded to them in a civil manor, mimicking their professional outlook.

"Koharu-San, Homura-San, what can I do for you at such a late hour as this?" He questioned his ex-teammates.

"We have come to confirm that _Weasel_ has completed his mission to annihilate the threat the Uchiha clan had become. However, it seems he was unable to completely conform to our orders." The old woman spoke up.

"He left his younger brother alive. Sasuke was found just a few minutes ago amongst the corpses of his kin by a patrolling Chuunin, and was immediately transferred to the hospital." Homura continued for her. The Hokage sighed tiredly.

"We will have to make preparations for him and the village then. It would be best that Sasuke never discovers the true reason behind his clan's slaughter, and we give him time to recover from this trauma. In the meantime, we need to bring our shinobi status up to critical. With the loss of out policing force other nations may feel the need to push at our boundaries and test how much we have been weakened. We need to be primed in case such a situation arises." He stated in a well rehearsed voice, keeping his emotions hidden, ready to be examined in his own time. Now he was the Hokage and needed to focus on what was best for his village. He had also known in advance that Itachi would not be killing Sasuke that night, and had already been prepared for the confrontation with Koharu and Homura over the matter.

The two elderly council members nodded their heads in agreement when another knock came at the door immediately followed by Danzo and two blank faced shinobi entering that the Hokage knew to belong to the other man's recently founded Root division within the ANBU.

"Hokage-Sama, I apologise for the late hour of my visit, however I assure you I strictly come on the utmost important business." He said, speaking words that should have been respectful, if not for the slight smirk that captured his lips suggesting a more sarcastic tone.

"What appears to be the problem Danzo-San? If you intend to inform me of the survival of Uchiha Sasuke, then I regret to inform _you_ that Koharu-San and Homura-San have already done so." A frown formed on the leader of Root's face, seemingly irked by the news.

"Whilst that was a partial part on what I came to tell you, Hokage-Sama, I also came to update you of the latest situation concerning our resident Jinchuriki." It was the Hokage's turn for a scowl to claim his features.

"And that would be...?" He said a threat clear within the old man's tone.

"He has ruthlessly attacked two ninja behind the local ramen stand, and has injured them severely. He must be immediately found and punished accordingly. Given his circumstances and the laws on a civilian attacking a ninja within his own shinobi village, the death sentence is most appropriate." He answered calmly. Sarutobi's chakra briefly flared in pure rage before he brought himself under control once more.

"You plan to place the death sentence upon a seven year old child?" He asked incredulously.

"In light of his resident, I believe such a punishment is appropriate." Danzo stated firmly.

-x-

On the roof Itachi was having problems holding onto Naruto who was determined to get out of the older boy's grip. Eventually his struggling grew to the point where Itachi risked them both falling from the roof. Regretting what he was about to do before he had even carried it out, the twelve year old delivered a chop to the back of the child's neck rendering him unconscious. Slowly he relaxed as he sat on the edge with his legs dangling above open space, within a shadow so as he would not be seen. He laid out the younger boy perpendicular to him, allowing his lap to be used as a pillow.

Even though the Hokage's office was well known to have some of the strongest sound barriers placed around it to deflect anyone listening in, the window had been left open, allowing the low murmurs of voices to be detected through the chilled night air. Itachi, now one of the last remaining Uchihas, recognised the voices of the elder members of the council along with Danzo. His hands tightened into fists at the memory of what they had told him to do just earlier that evening. After they had left it had been just him and Sarutobi. He had knelt at the man's feet and _begged_ to let his brother live. Once that had been accepted he had begged for his brother to never discover the truth of his clan's massacre. Sarutobi had protested, but had eventually come round, and agreed to keep secret the elder Uchiha's noble and courageous act.

He heard a groan from the boy on his lap, and looked down to see the child twist a little in his sleep before settling once more. He allowed himself to reach out and brush a few golden locks from Naruto's face, the same locks were still smudged crimson with innocent blood. He began to work his fingers through the knotted blonde hair and was relieved when he heard a soft sigh break through Naruto's chapped lips, and relaxed a little himself.

A few minutes later a soft whistle caught his attention, drifting out from the window below. He transferred the younger boy into his arms and walked down the wall and in through the window, entering the Hokage's office for the third time that evening. What met his eyes was the sight of the old man bent over at his desk, the dark circles under his eyes seemed somehow more pronounced and his wrinkles deeper, making him seem suddenly too old for the stressful position he still held within the hidden village.

"Hokage-Sama?" He questioned softly, as he laid the blonde onto the desk again. The man straightened enough to look Itachi in the eyes.

"You… did you harm any of the villagers attacking Naruto?" He questioned soberly.

"No, however I did knock two shinobi unconscious before they could injure him further." The Hokage sighed.

"They are blaming Naruto. They wish to force the death sentence upon him." Itachi was momentarily stunned.

"But they can't do that! He's just a child! Besides, it wasn't him, but me. I will go tell them this instant." He made to go straight to them, aiming for the door and hoping to catch the councillors before they left the Hokage tower.

"Stop! We must think this through rationally. They are all set on getting rid of Naruto once and for all. If you go to them now, all it will do to serve is land yourself in the same position due to your mission earlier this evening. The news has already been spread around that you are a traitor to be killed on sight." He paused for breath. "You must leave immediately, that is the only hope of your escape." He said much more calmly."

"And what of Naruto? Am I to leave him here to die?" Itachi questioned.

"No. I will find a way to override those fiends' decision. I will not allow for him to be killed."

"You speak with such hope, but you already know you have let them and the council's power grow too strong. You will not be able to win this one once they have won other the other council members' votes." The despair that had been held back by a thin wall of glass shattered within Sarutobi's mind as what he had already known was confirmed out loud by a boy not even a sixth of his age. A long pause seemed to drain all life from the room. Itachi finally came to a decision, shattering the silence and changing Naruto's life forever within the same five small words. "He will come with me."

So let me know what you think - Review!  
>xxx<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

**My present from me to you this Christmas!**

Big thanks to the following people for reviewing on the first chapter! alchemists19; luckyschoolgirl; Ex10; I Love Lollipops; Lord Rahl Master of D'Hara; TigrezzTail; Shadow Curse; Stargazer; wong jowo; VampiricBloOdyRose.

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><p>Life on the Run<br>Chapter 2

The trees flew past at a speed that would have terrified Naruto if it were not for his current unconscious state. Itachi continued to push onwards into the night with the child in his arms, as he dashed the fastest he could through the forest that surrounded Konoha, his home village. He had aimed to get out of the village unnoticed, as any sane ninja in his position would have, however it seemed Danzo had sent NE members out to look for Naruto. They had been spotted just as they had made it to the village's outer wall and since then there had been two teams hot on their heels. And they were slowly gaining.

Itachi finally came to the conclusion he had no choice but to fight, however this only brought on a new disadvantage as he would have to protect the golden haired child at the same time. Thinking quickly he came to a decision. Dropping down from the branches and onto the soft moss laden forest floor, he approached a hollow amongst the roots of a tree. Itachi gently lowered Naruto into the hollow, and then, reaching into his pack, the Uchiha removed two items. The blanket he tucked around the injured child, and a blank sealing tag which he deftly wrote the appropriate seal to hide a chakra presence in his own blood and then placed it on the boy's forehead. Afterwards he left the pack beside the boy and immediately turned and headed in the opposite direction to before, towards the pursuers.

As he neared the trackers he felt their chakra presences split so that they approached him from all sides and a few moments later they broke through the trees around him and the plain white masked figures surrounded him with ease, bringing him to a halt.

Whilst normally Itachi preferred an open area to take on opponents, with the six against one statistics he found himself thankful for the amount of cover and strategies the forest terrain would offer him during the battle that was about to take place. One of the NE members took a step forwards towards him and spoke in a clear and emotionless tone to voice the custom procedure on the account of meeting a nuke-nin as he now was.

"Uchiha Itachi, by the decree of the Sandaime Hokage of the Hidden Leaf Village you have been labelled a traitor of Konohagakure and all shinobi have been given the permission to kill on site. If you wish to come quietly, now is your opportune moment to do so." Itachi resisted the urge to role his eyes, as he did with every action that showed any amount of emotion, and instead shook his head once, efficiently, to show his refusal. "Then you leave us with no choice." Came the leader's voice with the same blank attitude as before.

All six of the came at him from all sides, each one wielding a different but just as deadly weapon. The one female amongst the group came at him first, a sai held in each of her hands and crossed across her chest. She threw the first at him, which Itachi immediately dodged and deemed a waist considering she was now down to only one weapon, and then advanced with the second making an intricate variety of swipes and stabs with the three pronged weapon. It was after a particularly vicious attack that she suddenly made an unusual move with her sai-less hand and Itachi felt from the air current something heading towards him and dodged just in time to only receive a scratch as the first sai sped past him and back into the female ninja's hand through the use of ninja wire wrapped around its hilt. She immediately threw the sai again and the process repeated.

If the Uchiha had been a lesser shinobi, he most probably would have fallen into the sense of security as the kunoichi repeated the same moves, making it easy for him to dodge ad counter attack where required. As it was though, when the other NE members used the false similarities to attack unexpectedly, Itachi was prepared and leapt out the way allowing the two new assailants to counter the woman's moves for him as they got in the way of her rhythmic hits.

Seeming to grow frustrated, the other ninjas under Danzo's control stepped in as well, causing havoc to break loose as they each sent a stab, slice or hit in his direction and then backed up to negate any counter attacks and allow the next shinobi to have a turn at him. Itachi, despite his superior power and training was fast becoming a sweat streaked mess and his previously controlled breathing was coming in short gasps. Finally beginning to notice a patter to the shinobi that attacked, he took a chance and blocked to his left the swordsman's blade with a kunai, sparks flying as proof of the power of each of their blows. He then kicked the man behind him in the stomach, who he predicted to be the next to attack, and used the split second pause that should occur to rush through familiar hand signs.

It appeared he had been right, whether through chance or the pattern he did not know, but the fire jutsu swelled around him forcing the enemies to retreat a distance. Not wasting a second, he used the borrowed time to jump back amongst the trees and hide amid shadows of the branches and leaves of the enormous trees and vegetation that blocked out the full moon's ghostly glow.

From there on out, he picked them off.

First he got rid of the bothersome woman. She stealthily made her way past the branch on which he crouched, her senses ranging around her trying to locate him. When she had passed just enough for it to count as her back facing him, Itachi pulled tight the sharp ninja wire which he had placed there not moments before she arrived. She had no time to scream as the wire sliced straight through both her left arm, right thigh and neck simultaneously, severing the limbs and head from her body. Her body dropped to the ground with a muted thud; the moss drank in her crimson blood.

The Uchiha's second attack got rid of the next three all at once. He utilised a single shadow clone to distract the three shinobi. The shadow clone allowed its chakra to be detected, but hid the majority of it so as not to appear suspicious. The real Itachi then watch from above as the three shinobi surrounded his clone hidden within a group of bushes. In the split second their attack absorbed their attention, Itachi's clone caught their eyes and they immediately became trapped within one of the sharingan's trademark genjutsus.

Since the shadow clone technique involved splitting chakra equally between the original body and the clone, half the amount of chakra seriously weakened the strength of the illusion. However Itachi had used this method purely for the opportunity it would give, and he dropped from his hiding place to land behind the three NE shinobi and decapitated all three with a single strike of his katana.

However these three had not been silent in their deaths, one had let out a shriek of fear due to the terrifying genjutsu and had given away his position to the remaining three shinobi.

The first two to reach him faced him down with a mixture of elemental based ninjutsus. It was purely unfortunate for them that their elements happened to be wind and water, both of which could be negated and weakened or even turned against them by his fire and lightning based retaliations. Soon their bodies also littered the ground, both looking burnt, but one by flames and the other by electrical energy.

Within seconds of him finishing them off, and before he had fully caught his breath, Itachi jumped to the side, dodging a kunai by a mere hair's width. The ninja tool buried itself in the dead body of one of the thrower's comrades instead.

By this point Itachi was low on chakra after having destroyed the whole of his own clan, casting a powerful genjutsu on his own younger brother and defeating the five NE shinobi whose bodies now lay throughout the forest. Not to mention the emotional strain from his actions that weighed terribly on his mind. And so the final fight came down to taijutsu and kenjutsu alone.

Itachi Uchiha and the leader clashed with an almighty crash. An intricate deadly dance was woven, and the two bodies separated and joined fluidly by their blades and lethal limbs. The rhythm began quickly in pace, but only proceeded to increase in tempo, reaching an incomprehensible high before they both became still.

The leader smirked beneath his mask at the sight of his blade sunken into Itachi's abdomen and the Uchiha coughed and sprayed blood from his mouth and the same liquid continued to drip from his lips after the original spasm. However when he looked up into the leader's eyes, the smirk faltered at the spark of amusement deep within the obsidian depths.

Then Itachi's body fell apart before his eyes, and each piece that broke away deformed into a crow that took flight up into the night. The process continued at an exponential rate until nothing remained.

Suddenly the leader felt a burning pain in his own stomach and looked down to see the tip of Itachi's sword protruding from his flesh. He fell forwards and came to rest on his side. Looking up Itachi stood above him, heaving in breaths and brushing sweat from his forehead. Then with arms shaking with fatigue the Uchiha raised his blade above his head. The leader shut his eyes.

Itachi removed the head from the shoulders with one fatal swoop and then walked unsteadily away, only pausing to wipe his sword clean on the grass.

-x-

It took a while for Itachi to make his way back to where he had left Naruto, and when he arrived he immediately reached into his pack and dry swallowed the two food pills he found there. In seconds he felt strength return to his limbs and chakra circulate in his previously dry chakra coils. It was then that he actually took the time to look at the child, and froze.

Naruto was curled up on his side and where he had moved in his sleep the blanket had bunched up around him. However what had enticed such a strong reaction out of him was the pair of amber eyes glowing in the otherwise blacked out environment, which were around the area of the boy's stomach. As his own eyes adjusted further to the dark surroundings, Itachi began to see outlines and eventually the full picture of a small everyday fox curled up in front of the boy in what could only be described as a protective manner.

Taking a moment to analyse the situation, Itachi tried approaching Naruto, but the fox hissed and its rusty red fur stood on end. However this reaction caused the golden haired child to stir and celestial blue eyes blinked open and looked around trying to recognise his surroundings. When his eyes landed on the Uchiha, he abruptly sat up but released a startlingly similar hiss to that of the fox when pain coursed through the broken wrist still bandaged tightly and the boy automatically brought the appendage up to his chest, cradling it with his other hand. His eyes never left Itachi's.

"Naruto-Kun, it's just me, Itachi." He said softly, suddenly realising that without his ANBU mask that child may not have recognised him. Again he reached out to console the boy in some way, but Naruto backed away further from his touch and his companion the fox stood up and in between the two humans, baring its fangs in a snarl. "Naruto-Kun, I'm just-"

"You're hurt." Naruto suddenly interrupted in a trembling voice. Itachi brought his hand up to his cheek where he could feel a light stinging from the scratch there, and when he lowered his hand he found blood coating his fingers. The boy looked on wide eyed at the injury as though seeing such a thing for the first time, which of course was impossible, considering the conditions the child had lived in up until then. Hesitantly he approached Itachi, and the fox whined in worry. Reaching out tentatively, he touched the wound so that his own fingers were stained by the ruby red liquid of life. Itachi remained as still as a statue throughout the notion, not wanting to scare the boy off again. "Why?" Naruto finally questioned, not looking at Itachi, but rather at his own tainted hand.

"I had to take care of some people that were tracking us." He answered as quietly as he could trying not to ruin the delicate atmosphere of calm that was slowly being built, however Naruto still flinched, but whether from the sound of his voice or of the killings he had implied, he did not know. Naruto began to back up again, but this time only to sit down on the soft mossy ground, and the fox mimicked his motions and sat at the child's side, its crafty eyes still lingering on Itachi as though he considered the ex-ANBU a threat. Itachi then noticed that the bandage around Naruto's otherwise bare feet had a red stain that was slowly spreading, visible through the eerie glow of the night. "You're hurt too." He stated calmly. "Let me take a look at your feet." He waited until he received an uncertain nod before moving forwards, but the fox hissed violently.

Naruto looked down in shock, seemingly only noticing the creature now, and just as timidly as he had done with Itachi's wound earlier, he laid a small bandaged hand out to rest on its white marked furred head. The fox leant into the touch and its eyes fell to half mast in pleasure as the child scratched him gently. The boy's eyes widened to globes as a purred sigh escaped the animal's throat at his ministrations. Whilst keeping a close eye on the fox, Itachi reached out again and with great care removed the bandages around Naruto's feet. He then proceeded to clean them carefully with some cloth he dampened using a canteen, and then redressed them with clean bandages.

All the while Naruto had continued to fascinate himself with the happy reactions the fox seemed to have to his care, and the animal was pushing at his hand for more and more attention, not unlike a pet would its owner. However Itachi could see the way the child's muscles were tensed, ready to jump away from him at a moment's notice, and the way the boy was watching him out the corner of his eye. It seemed he would have to earn Naruto's trust through time.

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><p>Another huge thanks for the previous review, and please do so again!<br>xxx


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to all those who reviewed on chapter 2!  
>blackspiritfire; VampiricBloOdyRose; KitsuneNaru; TigrezzTail; wong jowo; CracktheSkye; WolfDemon1000; CrystalFireExplosion.<p>

And now, on with the next chapter!

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><p>Life on the Run<br>Chapter 3

Itachi carried the child in his arms once more, the ground speeding away beneath his feet as the boy's legs dangle, swaying with the motion.

Naruto had fallen asleep a short while after he had eaten the soup that Itachi had heated after he had found it among his rations. The fox had curled around the boy protectively as he slumbered and Itachi had looked on in apprehension at the bond that was obvious between the woodland creature and his charge.

With his eyes never leaving the duo, he had begun to plan out their route and actions from this point onwards. The nights would become colder as winter approached fast, and he would need to find them real shelter for the boy to survive the harsh climate.

And not only that. There was also the last mission assigned to him.

How he was going to enter the strange new group that had cropped up with Naruto, he did not know.

Akatsuki was made up of a small number of Missing Nin that had banded together just recently. Their purpose and long term plans as of yet was unknown, although it was clear they were up to no good. After all, nothing good could come of collecting the Jinchuriki and Biju.

Itachi was also no fool. He knew bringing Naruto along would have advantages and disadvantages. Taking the young boy to them would be a sure fire way of getting into the organisation. However it left him with no guarantee of what would happen to the blonde. They could be out to kill the Jinchuriki which would go against the task of keeping the blonde safe, and on the other hand there could be a completely different agenda on the organisation's mind.

Itachi knew he had to become a part of the group despite all of this, for Akatsuki was growing fast, at such an alarming rate that he was sure plenty of the other hidden villages were also worried over their goals.

He had eventually come to the conclusion of hiding Naruto while he met up with the member who was supposed to meet him the following day to take him to their leader.

He had sat and watched the fox and child for a while longer before finally moving to repack all the supplies, before moving to pick up the boy once more.

The Fox had snarled at him colourfully, growing in volume at every step closer he took, until he was finally kneeling before them. Keeping a close eye on the animal, he reached out and ruffled the child's hair in hope of waking him from his exhausted sleep. When no such luck occurred, he instead scooped him up, one arm under his back and the other supporting the child's knees.

As he left the hollow, the young ninja shoved another food pill in his mouth, and blocked out the growling and hissing from the fox that followed him at a cautious distance.

When he took to the trees, the fox was soon out of sight.

-x-

When the first rays of sun peeped over the horizon, Itachi had made it to the edge of the thick forests surrounding his village and was able to fully appreciate the sunrise without the vegetation hindering the sight. The oranges and pinks that blossomed and painted the sky and the plains of grassy land were tainted by the glow, making the landscape seem unearthly.

With the pause in his travel, Naruto stirred in his arms at the change in the motion he had grown accustomed to in his sleep. Yawning pitifully and stretching gently, glassy blue eyes blinked a couple of times in adjustment and then took their time to focus on Itachi's face above him. As he finally seemed to comprehend the position he was in, the blonde's whole body went stiff, and his eyes widened in the beginnings of panic.

Seeing this, Itachi gentle lowered the boy until he was standing on his own two feet beside him, and then turned back to watch the sun's slow assent. He could see the child out the corner of his eye still standing stock still at his side, most likely to afraid to move or unsure of just what he should do. He could also feel Naruto's intense gaze boring into him, as Itachi continued to stare into the distance.

Eventually he sensed the child begin to relax just a little, as Naruto took his eyes off of his travelling companion for a brief while to take in their surroundings, before going back to staring at the older male.

When Itachi deemed enough tension had left the boy's shoulders, he spoke soft words into the quiet pre-birdsong morning.

"We've made good time. We're around a two hours run from the border, and there I will meet a man who is of key importance to my mission." He paused, watching as Naruto took in the information after jumping at the original sound of his voice. "I cannot take you with me."

This seemed to act as a physical blow to the child. He stared up at the ninja in bewilderment, before a look of understanding shortly followed by hurt crossed his still bandaged face. Then, eerily, Naruto's eyes went horrifically blank and a disgustingly fake smile adorned his lips as he nodded understandingly.

Seeing all this, Itachi immediately understood the gravity of what he had just said to the boy who had only ever known rejection. He was quick to try and make up for his clumsy wording.

"You will have to wait somewhere near here until I can come back for you. And I will be returning for you Naruto-Kun, that you can count on." A light of hope flickered to life within the deep cerulean pools, before they turned away from him in distrust.

Sighing softly, the Uchiha brushed a few strands of escapee hair away from his face and surveyed their immediate vicinity, his eyes roving over the landscape until they finally came to rest on a thick tree's hollow, similar to the previous one they had used. With a flourish of his hand he indicated the spot to the child, whom cautiously followed him.

Reaching into his backpack, Itachi removed several scrolls and laid them out on the mossy ground before releasing all of their content one after another.

Soon an arrangement of blankets, food and other necessities littered the ground. Quickly arranging the mess into something more organised, he stepped back allowing Naruto to enter, and the blonde crawled into the space on his hands and knees to sit with his arms wrapped round his legs facing the outside.

"I'm not sure how long I will be gone, Naruto-Kun. It could be anywhere between a few days to a couple of weeks, so make the food last." The boy did not respond, only continued to stare at him with the same emotionless replica of a smile held in place. Itachi could only hope that Naruto was paying attention, and that he would be able to rectify the damage he had caused to the slowly forming bond between them by proving his trustworthiness by returning to the blonde's side. "You will find a stream for water just a few minutes from here in that direction." He continued, gesturing further into the shadows of the forest. The Uchiha did not bother with any other tips on survival; he had seen the boy endure in much harsher conditions without the help Itachi had already provided.

Shuffling back a little, the elder of the last two Uchiha in existence rose to his full height and slung his backpack back over his shoulder. He turned and began to walk away from the boy, whose life was now entrusted to him, but found himself pausing, and looking over his shoulder for one last glance at the blonde. The boy was not even watching him leave. Sighing once more and brushing some loose hairs from his face yet again, he set off at speed, disappearing from the untrained eye's view.

He remained unaware of the azure orbs that secretly watched his departure through deceptive half shut lids, thick lashes hiding their glow from sight in the shadowed hollow.

-x-

Naruto laid huddled up in the homely hollow, as the cool night air washed over him in a gentle breeze that swept among the roots, swirling around the concaved area, before slowly coming to rest as the energy dispersed. The cold hours of darkness created a contrast to the heated bodies surrounding him on all sides, keeping him cooled to a comfortable temperature allowing him to sleep peacefully.

That is if it were not for the nightmares that haunted his every dream.

The small family of foxes, which had joined him in the hollow just hours after Itachi had left, were curled around him, each of their ears twitching, and whimpers escaping their furry bodies, as they, like all animals, could feel as a sixth sense the dark, terrified emotions intruding upon the child they looked upon as one of their own.

The largest fox, curled next to the blonde's head, licked the child's cheeks in a comforting manor. She wished that her rough tongue would awaken Naruto from his disturbed slumber. Her five kits, no more than two months old, all lay around his stomach area, keeping their adopted sibling warm. They slept through the human's suffering, but they still sensed that something was wrong and continued to keen in their sleep.

Finally, as the eastern sky lightened in the beginnings of a new day, the boy stirred, opening jewel like eyes which allowing a few tears to trail down his cheeks. These were quickly cleaned away with the mother fox licking them up, her tongue trailing over healed whisker marks.

Reaching out, the child expertly ran his hands through the coarse weather hardened rusty fur, till his fingers found a sensitive spot under her chin and he set about scratching the pleased mother.

Eventually he sighed and sat up, rousing the kits. Each stretched and blinked up at their mother and the human, slowly dragging their young minds from the sleepy haze. Whilst they did so, Naruto rose to his feet and left the shelter, taking a small saucepan with him as he went to the nearby stream to wash and collect some water.

When he returned, the young were already chasing each other around, playfully chewing on an ear and nipping at their siblings' tails in their game. Naruto's freshly washed blonde hair was somewhat flattened in its wet state, and it glistened in the now visible sun, drops of water still clinging to the soft locks. Seeing Naruto return, the fox cubs wove around and between his legs, near tripping him, as he headed towards the remains of a fire where he began to build a new one. He placed the water filled saucepan over the heat and waited for it to boil. He entered into a little game of tug-of-war to pass the time; Naruto verses two of the kits, growling good-naturedly at them, which they reciprocated in kind. The stick was eventually abandoned in the presence of food as he deftly poured the scolding water into a pot of instant ramen that was among the remaining food left to him.

The mother fox also returned at this point, having left earlier when he had returned, knowing him to be capable of protecting the kits from predators that would threaten them. Her search for food for herself and her children had been successful, and she returned with two rabbit held securely in her blood stained teeth. The fox cubs were quick to dig in along with their mother, whilst the human child sated his own hunger at the same time.

-x-

Itachi could honestly say he was rather disturbed by the appearance of the Akatsuki member he had met two weeks ago now. Kisame had introduced himself as his soon to be partner, and the Uchiha had immediately recognised the fish man from his ANBU bingo book he had been gifted with every six months within the force as they were updated. Kisame Hoshigaki was a missing ninja from the Hidden Mist, and not only that, he had also once been a member of the once renowned Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The bulky bandaged object slung onto the back of the blue man's gigantic frame was all Itachi needed to verify the reports that he still kept his sword, Samehada, after all these years since his defection.

Of course Itachi never showed his less than cheerful feeling over the fishy appearance, after all he was a Uchiha, and even within Akatsuki their emotionless facade was infamous.

Lately, however, the ex Konoha shinobi had been growing restless, which Kisame had already pointed out on several occasions. He had left Naruto for quite some time now, and he had been slowly growing afraid that he would never get back to the blonde what with all the constant missions he had been sent on since his official enrolment into the group.

But now he had finally drawn close to the area in which he had left the child, and Kisame had split from him for the return back to base so as to make it more difficult for anyone to track them down and lead potential enemies to their headquarters.

Taking the opportunity, he raced across the border and into the Fire Country, where he hoped to find the young boy.

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><p>Huge thanks again for reviews, and please review again!<p> 


	4. POLL

Poll

I've decided that I'm going to concentrate for a month at a time on each fanfiction, getting as many new chapters out during this time as I can.

In April I'm going to be concentrating on **Lord of Dragons and Riders** (a Merlin / Inheritance fanfiction).

However for May, I've set up a poll on my author page for all you lovely readers to vote on your favourite fanfiction!

So please vote! xxx


	5. PETITION

The administrators of are as of June 4th going to be taking down Fics that have lemons or have extreme violence. Now I don't know about you but I think thats stupid. There are many wonderful fics that only have one or two lemons in them yet the plot itself is awesome! You can't just take down a 100,000+ word fic just because it has a lemon in a chapter that is only 1000 words long. Now I urge you all to read the petition below, sign it, and repost this to your own fics. Hopefully if we make enough noise everything will return to normal. Thank you.

Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.

Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.

For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.

It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.

If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.

While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.

For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on the following website:

www. change  
>. org<br>/fanfiction-net-stop-the-destruction-of-fanfiction-net#

(remove the line gaps and spaces)


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